Next time when you think about why you need to spend on employee engagement activities, remember that businesses with engaged workforces outperform their competitors by up to 22% in terms of profitability. (Gallup study) The logic is simple- engaged people perform better which in turn helps companies achieve their goals. So who are these “engaged employees”? These are individuals who feel a strong mental and emotional connection towards their work, their teams, and their organization. Employee happiness, satisfaction and well-being are parts and parcels of employee engagement.

The idea of executing exactly the same kind of employee engagement activities every month/ year is no longer relevant because the expectations of employees are changing more quickly than ever before. Thus, in order to keep them truly engaged, being current with the ongoing employee engagement trends is important. So, if you are looking for National fun day at work 2023 ideas, or want to make the best use of your employee welfare funds, by and large, read on!

Break the Monotony with the Following Employee Engagement Activities and Ideas:
Include Standup Shows in your Events:
When we say that happy employees are the most productive ones, we mean it literally! Hire a stand-up comic to make your corporate gatherings fun, be it annual days, family days, or award ceremonies.

These days you have a fantastic league of stand-up comedians who comprehend the client brief and tailor their acts to the event. It is usually advisable to ask them to avoid talking about politics and religion, and making fun of customers and competitors.

Plan a Corporate Retreat:
A corporate retreat is a one-day, one-week, or longer gathering where employees can relax, bond with each other and also do corporate planning. Especially in the post-covid times, after a long period of remote work and several kinds of virtual employee engagement activities, people are craving a change in their surroundings.

Taking them to some calm and exciting settings like beaches or mountains will help them think more creatively and contribute better. Find a property that has all the amenities you require, like conference rooms, lounges, a pool, a games room, an open ground etc.

Since corporate retreats take place away from your office space, make sure you make all the travel and accommodation arrangements. Plan your team building activities in advance. Some common fun activities for employee engagement can be escape rooms, cook-off, wine tasting, karaoke night, hiking, dance off and so many more such exciting activities.

Organize a Lunch and Learn Event:
A lunch and learn event is a great way to help employees interact with each other while enhancing their professional and personal growth.

The purpose of such sessions can vary from discussing a business strategy to learning about physical/mental well-being. Since the atmosphere is usually less formal and more sociable, it is a great way to foster positivity and enable networking.

Organize a Mental Health Fair
In the 2021 Wellness Trends Report, it was found that organizations are investing in wellness programs more than ever. Poor mental health can drastically impact an employee’s confidence and productivity, ability to manage work-life balance, ability to communicate with co-workers and so many other aspects.

Organizing a health fair is one of the most trending ways to introduce wellness initiatives to your employees. It can help you demonstrate that you care about their well-being. Common elements include some hands-on learning activities, fitness challenges, meditation workshops, and activities like painting, dancing, yoga etc. To choose the right kind of activities and goodies, make sure that your goals are measurable and specific.

Organize a Pet Day
To help employees manage their stress, companies today are organizing pet days where employees can take their pets to their workplaces. It is important to assess if your organizational structure is appropriate for receiving pets.

If not, you can always book places. Make sure you notify your employees that their pets must be vaccinated and dewormed. Having said this, the organizers must be ready for unanticipated circumstances and always have a vet and doctor present on the event day.

Plan a Volunteer Program
If you are looking for inexpensive employee engagement ideas, it’s corporate volunteering. Currently, corporate volunteering is practiced by more than 25% of organizations. Usually, these are environmental cleanup programs, any pro bono work for NGOs, donation drives etc.

If you are trying to figure out the relationship between volunteer programs and employee productivity, researches show a positive correlation between the two. Employees feel a sense of purpose and empowerment during these programs, which further reflects in their everyday productivity.

In addition to this, companies that are purpose-driven are found to be a top choice of employees as well as customers. With these programs, not only you are making a difference in society, you are also making a difference in your corporate reputation.

Make Motivational Speakers a part of your Event:
Employee engagement and motivation go hand in hand. After a long time of remote working, both employees and leaders have been feeling unfocused and demotivated. A session with a motivational speaker will help them get fresh perspectives and feel optimistic.

In a daily grind, even the high-performing employees can begin to feel like cogs in a machine. In such a scenario, a voice from the outside might serve as a reminder that they are not only valuable as individuals but also crucial for the organizations.

Conclusion:
It is important to continuously improve employee engagement initiatives at your organization so that your employee engagement funds and efforts do result in improved employee loyalty, productivity, satisfaction and more business profitability.

The trends of employee engagement activities will keep on evolving, what will persist is the fact that employees want a people-first culture, one where they are valued, their work is appreciated and their wellness and work-life harmony are a priority.

Managing an employee engagement event/program end-to-end can be overwhelming. So if you are looking for an event management agency that can help you from conceptualization to execution, contact us!